BCC+ Diffusion

Category: BCC Optical Diffusion

Effect Name: BCC+ Diffusion

The BCC+ Diffusion filter, part of the BCC Optical Diffusion category, creates atmosphere by reducing contrast while creating a glow around highlights or shadows using an extensive texture library.

Working with the Filter

FX Editor and Presets

• Use the FX Editor to load or save presets for reuse.
• To load a preset: Open the FX Editor, select a preset from the Presets panel, and click Apply to return to the host application.
• To save a custom preset: While in the FX Editor, click the Create Custom Preset icon in the parameter list, enter a preset name, and click Done. Additionally, a custom preset can be saved from the main menu bar by selecting File->Save Preset.
• To import custom presets from another drive: While in the FX Editor, select File->Import Preset from the main menu bar.

Effect Controls

Mocha Mask and Track

Continuum effects include integrated masking and matte tools that allow you to restrict the effect to specific regions of the image.

• Mocha masks: used to create custom spline masks. Mocha also includes Matte Assist ML and Matte Refine ML, which use machine learning to generate and track masks.
• Pixel Chooser: used to generate geometric shapes, gradients, or mattes based on channel, luma, or color-based selections. Additionally, an AI depth map generator, and an AI-powered face detection model allow for precise control of masks and mattes.

For more information, see Mocha and Pixel Chooser.

Compare Mode

The Compare Mode is used to view the filtered result alongside the original source layer. Several split-screen and side-by-side display options are available.

For more information, see Compare Mode.

Beat Reactor

The Beat Reactor is an audio-driven animation system that links effect parameters to an audio track. This allows visual effects to react dynamically to sound without manual key-framing.

For more information, see Beat Reactor Documentation.

• View Sets the viewer to display different aspects of the filter.
  • Output: Displays the final result of the effect.
  • Matte: Displays the matte view.
  • Texture: Displays the texture layer.

  Diffusion Group

  • Blend: Determines the blend mode to be used to create the diffusion effect.
  • Add: Adds diffusion to the image.
  • Screen: The diffusion is combined with the image using a Screen blend mode.
  • Brightness: Sets the intensity of the diffusion.
  • Blur X: Sets the blur along the x-axis.
  • Blur Y: Sets the blur along the y-axis.
  • Blur Gang: Links the Blur Y and Blur Y parameters together.
  • Color: Sets the color of the diffusion.

  Color Correct Group

  • Hue: Rotates the hue of the image.
  • Saturation: Sets the saturation of the image.
  • Brightness: Sets the brightness of the image.
  • Contrast: Sets the contrast of the image.
  • Gamma: Sets the gamma of the image.
  • Temperature: Sets the color of the image to be either warmer or cooler. Dragging the slider to the right makes the image cooler (bluer) and dragging the slider to the left makes the image warmer (redder).
  • Cyan/Magenta: Adds either Cyan or Magenta to the image.
  • Red: Adds or subtracts red from the image.
  • Green: Adds or subtracts green from the image.
  • Blue: Adds or subtracts blue from the image.
  • Texture: Selects the texture used for the diffusion.

  Texture Group

  • Blend: Textures can be used as the source of the diffusion as well as combined with a matte using a variety of Blend modes.
  • Texture Only:Displays the texture source normally, without any blending.
  • Add: The pixels of one image are added to another image.
  • Subtract: Looks at the color information in each channel and subtracts either the blend color from the base color or the base color from the blend color, depending on which has the greater brightness value.
  • Multiply: Multiplies the base color by the blend color. The result color is always a darker color.
  • Screen: Multiplies the inverse of the two images.
  • Difference:Subtracts either the blend color from the base color or the base color from the blend color, depending on which has the greater brightness value.
  • Darken:Selects the base or blend color—whichever is darker—as the result color.
  • Lighten: Selects the base or blend color—whichever is lighter—as the result color.

  The Multiply blend mode is ideal for combining the texture source with the matte because it only puts the texture source within the areas of the matte.

  Transform Group

  Transform the light pattern using Position, Scale, Rotate, Corner-Pin, Shear and Crop controls.

  Crop Group

  The image can be cropped by adjusting the various crop parameters.

  • Top: Crops the image from the top down.
  • Bottom: Crops the image from the bottom up.
  • Left: Crops the image from left to right.
  • Right: Crops the image from right to left.

  Corner Pin Group

  The image can be corner pinned by adjusting the Corner Pin sliders as well as dragging the four points on the corners of the screen.

  Note: You may need to zoom the image out a bit to see the corner points. In addition, to see and adjust the corner points in After Effects, make sure that the effect title in the Effect Controls window is highlighted. For Final Cut Pro, you must activate the cross hair icon next to the corner position parameters to see and adjust the corner points on the screen.

  • Upper-Left: Controls the X and Y position of the Upper Left Point.
  • Upper-Right: Controls the X and Y position of the Upper Right Point.
  • Lower-Right: Controls the X and Y position of the Lower Right Point.
  • Lower-Left: Controls the X and Y position of the Lower Left Point.
  • Position: Sets the position of the texture along the x/y axis.
  • Scale X: Sets the scale of the texture along the x-axis.
  • Scale Y: Sets the position of the texture along the y-axis.
  • Gang Scale: The Scale X and Scale Y slider values can be ganged together. When enabled, the scale parameter will not display individual X and Y parameters.
  • Rotate: Sets rotation of the texture.
  • Shear X: Skews the texture left and right.
  • Shear Y: Skews the texture up and down.
  • Anchor X: Determines the point on the X axis around which position, rotation, scaling or shearing takes place.
  • Anchor Y: Determines the point on the Y axis around which position, rotation, scaling or shearing takes place.
  • Filter: Sets the filtering method when applying a transform to the image.
  • Triangle: The Triangle filter is not the highest quality, but fine for scaled images.
  • Quadratic: Quadratic is like triangle, but more blur with fewer artifacts. It offers a good compromise between speed and quality.
  • Cubic: Cubic is the default filter in Photoshop. It produces better results with continuous tone images, but is slower than Quadratic. If the image contains fine details, the result may be blurrier than desired.
  • Catmull-Rom: This produces good results with continuous tone images which are scaled down, producing sharp results with fine detailed images.
  • Gaussian: Gaussian lacks in sharpness, but is good with ringing and aliasing.
  • Mitchell: A good balance between sharpness and ringing, Mitchell is a good choice when scaling up.
  • Sinc: Keeps small details when scaling down with good aliasing.
  • Edge Mode: Defines how the edges of the filtered frame are handled.
    • Transparent: Makes the edges of the result transparent.
    • Repeat: Extends edge pixels outward to create opaque edges. (Default)
    • Reflect: Mirrors edge pixels back into the image.
    • Wrap: Wraps the edge pixels to create opaque edges.

  Matte Group

  A matte is used to create the diffusion effect.

  • Position: Sets the values to be adjusted.
  • Range: Determines the range of values to be used for the matte. A higher Range value considers more values.
  • Blur: Sets the matte blur.
  • Mix with Original: Blends the source and filtered images. Use this parameter to animate the effect from the unfiltered to the filtered image without adjusting other settings, or to reduce the effect of the filter by mixing it with the source image.
  • GPU Rendering:Specifies how the effect is rendered.
    • Default: Uses product-wide default of 16 bit half-float GPU rendering.
    • 16 Bit Float: Manually force 16 bit half-float GPU rendering.
    • 32 Bit Float: Manually force 32 bit full-float GPU rendering.
    • Disabled: Forces CPU rendering.